The Right To Choose
by ScarletWing
Summary: What if things had been different when Jaune came to Beacon? What if Weiss was more interested in his family name? What if Jaune wasn't as proud and more open with his friends? What if everyone was willing to help and build him into a stronger person? What would that version of Jaune and his friends look like?


**Hi there! My name is ScarletWing and welcome to my first fic! I really love RWBY and have for a long time, but have only recently become interested in the FanFiction community for it. Everyone's writing is really interesting and inspired me to try to create a story of my own.**

 **So I decided to write a Jaune/Weiss fic. Why? Because I think the two could really learn from each other (and I feel like that is the direction that the show canon might be going in), and with a few character tweaks and pushes in the right direction from beyond the fourth wall, we could have a fun little adventure on our hands!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Jaune launched himself out of the airship and collapsed, heaving, to the pavement.

 _Eugh, of course this is the only transport around Vale,_ he thought to himself, irritated. He groaned and hauled his aching body to his feet. Finally, after all his waiting, he stood face to face with Beacon Academy. Time to prove to himself and everyone else that he really did have what it took to be a Hunter. To be a hero.

 _You know you shouldn't be here._

And then of course came the little voice that had been nagging at the back of his mind ever since the idea occurred to him to forge his transcripts.

 _You know you're not good enough for this place._

Jaune sighed. He knew the voice was right, he didn't deserve to be here. As he looked around at the throngs of other students milling about the courtyard, he could tell just from one look how much more experienced and confident they were than him. They had earned their spot, and they knew it.

Still, he was here now, there was no turning back anymore. However he had gotten here, this was his one chance to study and train and become what he needed to be.

 _You know you will probably die here._

The one thought that scared him more than anything. He clenched his trembling fists and took a deep breath.

Yes. It was possible that he would die here. Hell, it was highly probable. And sooner rather than later, orientation would be his real test. But till then, he may as well make the most of what time he had. The best he could do would be to prepare himself as well as he could and make as many allies his possible to ensure his progression through the academy.

Now, if only he could figure out where the hell he was supposed to go.

He slapped his hand to his face, reprimanding himself. Only he would forget where he had to go as soon as he made it to Beacon.

As the thought entered his mind, a large explosion went off behind him, taking him off his feet. He scrambled back up and raced to the source of the noise. Of all the scenarios he expected to find, what he found was not on the list.

A small red-headed girl in a cloak was apologising profusely to another girl with pure white hair who appeared to be storming away from her. Jaune stopped and looked at her. There was no denying that she was beautiful, she took Jaune's breath away.

But the smile that found its way to his face faltered when he saw the scowl she wore. He couldn't think of another word for that expression than utterly furious.

He kept his mouth shut and looked back towards the red-head. She had turned to another girl who had been standing next to her, but she too had walked away. She sank down to the ground and Jaune caught an audible sigh from her.

He looked around as everyone else in the area. As much as they had all been staring at the spectacle, now they seemed to be avoiding the small girl and walking away towards the school buildings.

Jaune glanced back at her and smiled slightly. The dejected look on her face told him that she was just as desperate to fit in as he was. Well, time to make a new friend! He walked over to her and held out his hand.

"Hey, I'm Jaune," he said with a grin.

She looked up at him, and he noticed that her eyes were a very pure silver. After a small pause, she took his hand and smiled back.

"Ruby."

He pulled her to her feet and she gave a small chuckle.

"Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?"

 _Damn._

* * *

Talking with this Ruby girl turned out to be a lot easier than Jaune had anticipated. Apparently, she was just as much of a geek as he was. She even liked video games as much as Jaune did!

But as much as they seemed to be similar, Jaune soon discovered that she couldn't be more of his opposite at the same time. While he had faked his way into this school, she had been moved forwards two years because of her skill and ambition. While he borrowed his family's ancient sword and shield, she had custom built her own scythe with sniper rifle functions.

Jaune honestly couldn't tell where the line between admiration and fear of this girl was.

But eventually, after getting lost again, they had found their way into the halls of Beacon. Almost immediately, Ruby had been called over by a tall blonde woman. Having no familiar faces to turn to, Jaune decided to follow Ruby.

"Oh, is this a new friend?" the blonde asked.

"Right right, introduction time!" Ruby squeaked happily. "Jaune, this is my big sister Yang!"

Jaune was startled. Big sister? He couldn't quite see much resemblance between the two, but decided not to question it. Even he didn't resemble all of his sisters all that much, so who was he to judge? He held out a hand.

"Jaune Arc. Very nice to meet you."

Yang grinned and shook his hand vigorously, crushing his fingers in the process. Jaune took a mental note to never pick a fight with this one.

"You too! Thanks for keeping an eye on the midget here, I take my eye off her for a second and she's already blowing holes in the school!"

"Did you say Arc?" came a voice suddenly from behind Jaune.

He whirled around and found himself face to face with the white-haired beauty from the courtyard. He felt Ruby instantly recoil behind him into her sister's arms and rubbed the back of his neck.

Taking a moment to study the girl a bit better this time, Jaune noticed that she was very short, even with the heels she was wearing. She was incredibly pale, and had a scar over one eye.

But what struck Jaune most was the stark change in expression from before. While still wearing a frown that Jaune assumed now was her default state, her blue eyes now sparkled and seemed curious and inquisitive, rather than the blazing fury from before.

She was gorgeous. He felt his heart skip a beat.

"Uhh, yeah?" he offered nervously.

Jaune didn't know how, but she managed to look both satisfied and disappointed with his response at the same time. She looked him up and down, and for some reason he felt incredibly vulnerable against her gaze.

"Hmm. Thin, gangly, blank expression. Not really anything impressive," she said, mostly to herself but still loud enough for all to hear, "Are you sure you're an Arc?"

While Jaune was still trying not to look too offended as she had so openly insulted him, before one thing struck him as odd.

"What do you mean? Do you know my family?" he asked quizzically. The girl performed one of the biggest eye rolls Jaune had ever seen.

"Anyone from an old family knows who the Arcs are."

"Does that mean you are too?" She looked highly offended at this and took a menacing step towards him.

"Even you can't be as stupid as to not recognise a Schnee when you see one!" she snarled.

"Schnee… As in the dust company?"

"Of course, idiot! Do you know any others?" she exclaimed. This girl certainly had a flair for the dramatic. She made grandiose hand gestures and spoke loudly whenever possible in the conversation!

"I'm sorry!" Jaune apologised quickly, "I just- you never introduced yourself so how could I know?" She stopped at this, clearly confused as to why he didn't recognise her on site. Jaune guessed that being a Schnee meant that her family was more in the spotlight than he realised. Despite this, she extended her hand.

"Weiss Schnee."

He took her hand cautiously. Her grip was firm, but not crushing like Yang's, clearly the practiced handshake of someone well used to formal introductions.

"You still don't strike me as an heir to a family of your name," she said. She was expressionless, so Jaune didn't believe it was meant as an insult and more a statement of fact to her. "I certainly hope that you are more impressive on the battlefield."

Jaune gulped at this. He had a feeling Weiss' opinion of him would plummet even further once seeing his fighting capabilities. Weiss leaned to the side and eyed Ruby and Yang with a raised eyebrow.

"And I would also advise you improve your judge of character," she sneered.

"I said I was sorry!" Ruby pouted.

"Yeah what's your problem with my sister?" Yang interjected, clearly angry. Weiss didn't even dignify them with a response as she turned on her heel and disappeared into the crowd. Jaune turned back to the sisters with a glum look on his face.

"So much for first impressions," he whined. Yang and Ruby each placed a hand on his shoulders, giggling.

"Don't worry, Vomit-Boy, you've got a couple of new friends already!" Yang said with her huge smile. Jaune sighed and cheered up a little, watching Professor Ozpin walk out onto the stage to deliver his Headmaster's address. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad here after all.

"Wait, what did you call me?"

* * *

All of the first years had been gathered together to sleep in the ballroom, so sleeping bags littered the floor around Jaune. He found a small space for him to settle down and set up his own sleeping bag. He opened up his suitcase to find some pyjamas for the night and heaved a long sigh.

Inside he found a bright blue full body suit with rabbits on the feet. This was his going-away present from his sisters, they had all made it together and forced him to promise that he would take it with him. Unfortunately, it appeared that they had also taken the liberty of removing all of his other pyjamas sometime before he had left.

This meant he had at least one week before he'd be able to go into Vale and buy some replacements. He decided that when he went, he would make a stop at the CCT and have a stern conversation with that family of his.

That being said, he reluctantly pulled out the one-piece and got changed in the nearby bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. He'd been doing that a lot today.

 _Well,_ he thought as he straightened himself up and forced a smile to his face, _if you're gonna be forced into this ridiculous thing then you're going to at least act like you look good in it. Fake it till you make it!_

Jaune walked back out to the ballroom and immediately turned heads. Nearby students all tried to stifle their laughter and honestly, he couldn't blame them. But oh well, he wasn't going to dwell on it. He got into his sleeping bag, but the other students were all still so lively and excited that he realised he wouldn't be sleeping any time soon.

So Jaune stood back up and decided to get some air by the balcony outside. He looked out at the rest of the school and leant against the railing. He hadn't noticed it before, but Beacon really was beautiful.

"Certainly the more appealing of the views available," came a familiar voice from behind him. He turned and found Weiss leaning against the doorway, wearing her signature frown.

"Did you come out here just to make fun of me?" Jaune asked.

"Not really, but life does have its perks sometimes," she replied with a shrug. Even Jaune had to chuckle at that. "It's far too stifling in there," she admitted, moving to the balcony.

"True, but what else can they do to accommodate so many of us?"

"I suppose you're right."

They stood together in silence for a while, before she turned to him with an eyebrow raised.

"Honestly, why are you wearing that ridiculous costume?" she enquired.

"My sisters made it for me before I left, kind of a family project for them. Then they decided to steal the rest of my pyjamas." Jaune smiled as he looked up at the sky. "As stupid as it looks, I do still appreciate their gesture."

"Are you getting sappy already? It's been less than a day, you're going to need to forget about them and focus on what's important," she scoffed at him.

"Yeah, I know, but I don't spend time away from home much, this is pretty new territory for me."

Jaune looked over at her. She seemed to glow in the moonlight. Jaune felt like he could just spend the rest of the night just watching her.

"You should forget about them for now, family is not going to help you out here." Weiss stared out into the night, and Jaune felt like that last comment was only half directed at him. Her eyes were almost wistful as she looked out at the stars, but Jaune decided not to push it.

"Try telling that to Ruby and Yang!" he said, smirking at her. Almost at once, her expression instantly turned to distaste.

"Those two are menaces. I don't understand how they were accepted into this academy, let alone moving that Ruby forward two years!"

"Hey now, you don't even know them! Little quick to judge, don't you think?" he said, feeling defensive of his new friends.

"You've only known them as long as I have," she retorted, and Jaune had to admit she was right, "And besides, I've learned as a Schnee that your first instincts on a person's character is usually correct. You should keep that in mind as an Arc."

"Okay, why do you keep bringing up my family name?" Jaune asked, exasperatedly.

"We're members of some of the oldest families in Remnant. We have a duty to uphold the legacy of our predecessors." She gave Jaune a very irritated look. "Although by the looks of things, you needn't bother. I don't know why I waste my time on such a pathetic specimen."

"Wow, you really know how to stroke a man's ego." Jaune replied, wincing.

"I refuse to spend my life stroking the egos of men like my father wan-" Weiss snapped, before appearing to catch herself and regain her composure. She spun around and made to walk back inside, but stopped just before the entrance.

"You know you could just wear literally any of your casual clothes to sleep in. Anything would be better than that monstrosity."

Jaune barely heard her mutter "idiot" to herself as he smacked his palm into his face.

* * *

 **Thus ends my first chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it! I'm trying not to deviate too far away from canon yet, just some little twists away from the main canon to provoke more interesting character interactions.**

 **Haven't decided as of yet whether or not to follow the canon plot away from Beacon, to stay in Beacon for a more slice-of-life episodic kind of flick, or just to try to come up with my own plot. You help me decide!**

 **Feel free to offer constructive feedback or just comments if you like, and I'll see you all next chapter!**


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